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Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness says Desmond Tutu. Hope has been hailed by thinkers of every age from Aristotle to Marcel. It has been endorsed by the spiritually minded as well as the most atheistic philosophers and scientists. Modern investigators have suggested there is no greater ally than hope. Unfortunately, there has been remarkably little empirical research on this topic. The present paper seeks to assess the meaning of hope, why hope is important, why do we need hope, the relationship and the difference between hope and optimism and the different theories and dimensions of the concept of hope according to different researchers.
Keywords: hope, hope theories, optimism
The word 'hope' has been derived from late Old English word 'hopa' which means 'confidence in the future.' Snyder, Irving & Anderson (1991, as cited in Snyder, 2000, p.8) define hope as the process of thinking about one's goals, along with the motivation to move toward those goals (agency) and the ways to achieve those goals(pathways). Hope is essential for human existence. Hope is as old as humanity. Hope is a desire with an expectation for something, especially something good, to happen. Hope implies little certainty, but it implies confidence in the possibility of that desire. Hope affects the thinking of a person and the way he or she perceives events. Hope not only shapes a person's behavior, but also motivates him, increases persistence and enables a person to go on, keep trying and not give up. Hope opens up new creative possibilities and fills an individual with positive emotions such as happiness and courage. Psychologists relate hope to achieving goals, while according to medical professionals, hope means coping up with your condition, and for philosophers, hope is a spiritual virtue. Hope is often thought of as an emotion but most theorists state that hope does not fall in the category of emotions. Rather it is a dynamic, cognitive and a motivational process. Emotions follow cognitions in the process of goal-directed thinking (Snyder, 1994). While others state that hope is an emotion and indeed the most important one.
Importance and need for hope
The life of any and every human being is full of ups and...